$\begingroup$Not that I consider myself an expert in making riddles (because I'm not), but maybe you can include vague hints instead of direct ones. So instead hinting to the answer, hint to a hint that hints the answer.$\endgroup$
– MariusSep 5 '16 at 8:09

1

$\begingroup$I agree with the above commenters: many of the clues in this riddle aren't cryptic enough. "Light", "bright", "hot" all point towards fire, and "cooked meat" just confirms it. A good riddle should include misdirection, often making you think the solution might be one thing when really it's something else (though of course you need to include enough clues to ensure that that first thing wouldn't also work as an answer). For an example of a riddle with a big red herring, see this one.$\endgroup$
– Rand al'ThorSep 5 '16 at 10:45

$\begingroup$I'd say remove the first 4 lines and the last, then it'd be a little less obvious$\endgroup$
– SkuldSep 5 '16 at 12:26